If someone said a 17-year-old girl could keep JFK High School students silent for an hour, one might think that girl had magical powers.
On Sept. 19, JFK students attended an assembly called “Rachel’s Challenge,” where they learned about the life of Rachel Joy Scott, the first person killed at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999.
In some sense, Rachel did possess powers. From an early age, she knew she was destined for something bigger than herself. An aspiring writer and actress, her life certainly had an inexplicable aura of serendipity surrounding it.
One of her idols was Anne Frank, a Jewish girl killed in a concentration camp in Nazi Germany during the rule of Adolf Hitler. The two boys responsible for the Columbine High School shooting idolized Hitler.
The day Rachel died, she was sitting in class drawing a picture of two eyes crying onto a rose. As the 13 tears hit the rose, they turned to blood. Thirteen people were killed hours later that day.
Rachel’s Challenge is a program centered on an essay Rachel wrote called “My Ethics, My Code of Life,” in which she asked the reader to live their life with honesty, truth and compassion for everyone. From this essay came the five parts of the challenge: Eliminate prejudice by looking for the best in others; Dare to dream, set goals and keep track of them by keeping a journal; Choose your influences, input determines output; Use kind words and practice little acts of kindness and Start a chain reaction with these acts of kindness.
Following the assembly about Rachel and the challenge, 81 students participated in a training called, Friends of Rachel or F.O.R, which encourages students to spread “Small Acts of Kindness” and challenge others to start a “Chain Reaction of Kindness.”
The students now meet on Tuesday and are committed to make a meaningful difference with their friends, family and community.
“I encourage you to watch for the difference that these students will make in our community,” said JFK principal Troy Stoops. “I also challenge you to watch for opportunities to get involved with future activities that support Rachel’s Challenge. Together, we can all have a positive impact on our community.”
To learn about Rachel’s Challenge visit www.rachelschallenge.com
